Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Some HTML is OK

Sign me up for the Money Morning newsletter

Name *

Email *

Website

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

The Dow Jones today fell 50 points out the gate as investors continue to monitor developments on the U.S.-China trade front.

But a strong earnings report from Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) gave stocks a boost as investors prepare for a slate of quarterly reports from retail giants. Earnings season continues Tuesday with a string of high-profile retailers. Read on to see how they stack up…

The Top Stock Market Stories for Tuesday

Despite some progress in trade talks between the United States and China, China warned its citizens about trouble ahead for its economy. This morning, the Chinese government predicted the nation's economy would grow between a rate of 6% and 6.5% in the year ahead. This figure would represent a slowdown from last year's expansion rate of 6.6% and would be the lowest growth total in 30 years. Ongoing tensions between the United States and China have cooled in recent weeks. U.S. President Donald Trump said that the two nations are "very, very close" to a deal and a "signing summit."

Health insurance companies are under pressure after the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled a "Medicare for all" bill. Although the bill has very little chance of passing in the current session of Congress, investors are unnerved about the growing desire in Washington to shift to a single-payer model. Although there might be an opportunity for companies like Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) to rebound, don't expect the gains to last long. Many analysts feel that health insurance stocks are ripe for a sharp downturn when Democratic nominees for president begin debating their healthcare positions in the fall.

Shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) are falling again in pre-market hours. The latest bad news came after the company received another downgrade – this one from Barclays Plc. (NYSE: BCS). The British bank slashed its price target from $210 to $192 per share and said that the company has undermined its own narrative around the Model 3. "With lower margins not likely to be offset by increased volumes and cost saves, we cut our PT to $192 and remain underweight…" the bank wrote. The price target of $192 represents downside of 32.7% from Tuesday's closing price.

Money Morning Insight of the Day

Right now, even with all the market uncertainty, there's truly a ridiculous amount of money to be made from stocks if you followthis secret.

We're talking about gains like 663%… 628%… even 818%.

This method is unique in the entire history of investing – and for a limited time, you can learn how to use it for yourself and have an opportunity to hit as many peak gains as possible right away.

Stocks to Watch Today: TGT, CRM, FB

This morning, shares of Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) popped nearly 6% after a strong Q4 earnings report. The company reported earnings per share of $1.53 on total revenue of $22.98 billion. Wall Street expected $1.52 per share on sales of $22.91 billion. The firm reported very strong online sales (up 25%) and a 5.3% jump in same-store sales. Analysts had expected a 4.5% increase in same-store sales. The report is the latest sign that Target has emerged as a formidable competitor to Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is under fire again due to security concerns around its sign-in features. The company has not allowed users to opt out of the key feature that lets users look up others by phone number and e-mail address. Many people have added their phone numbers in the past thinking it would only be used for two-factor authentication and security. Critics argue this is the latest episode of Facebook compromising user information.

Shares of Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) are in focus as the cloud computing giant plans to report earnings after the bell Tuesday. CRM stock is already up 20% so far this year. And many analysts expect the firm to report earnings per share of $0.55 on top of $3.56 billion in revenue. Yesterday, Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff predicted that $30 billion in annual revenue for the cloud computing giant is "right around the corner."

Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, and consultant with degrees from Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, and Indiana University. He is a seasoned financial and political risk analyst, with a focus on stocks, hedge funds, private equity, blockchain, and housing policy. He has conducted risk assessment projects for clients in 27 countries, and consulted on policy and financial operations for some of the nation's largest financial institutions, including a $1.5 trillion credit fund, a $43 billion credit and auto loan giant, as well as two of the largest Wall Street banks by assets under management.

Garrett joined Money Map Press as an economist and researcher in 2011, specializing in alternative strategies with an emphasis on fundamental and technical analysis.

By submitting your email address you will receive a free subscription to Money Morning and receive Money Morning Profit Alerts. You will also receive occasional special offers from Money Map Press and our affiliates. You can unsubscribe at anytime and we encourage you to read more about our privacy policy.

Our Top Rated Stocks

You can view our VQScore top-rated stocks now by entering your email below:

By submitting your email address you will receive a free subscription to VQScore and occasional special offers from Money Map Press and our affiliates. You can unsubscribe at anytime and we encourage you to read more about our privacy policy.

Today's Markets

DJIA829.16(3.15%)27,110.98

NASDAQ198.27(2.06%)9,814.08

S&P81.58(2.62%)3,193.93

TGT1.57(1.31%)121.53

CI7.09(3.50%)209.48

UNH13.77(4.62%)311.85

TSLA21.28(2.46%)885.66

AMZN22.40(0.91%)2483.00

ABOUT MONEY MORNING

Money Morning gives you access to a team of ten market experts with more than 250 years of combined investing experience – for free. Our experts – who have appeared on FOXBusiness, CNBC, NPR, and BloombergTV – deliver daily investing tips and stock picks, provide analysis with actions to take, and answer your biggest market questions. Our goal is to help our millions of e-newsletter subscribers and Moneymorning.com visitors become smarter, more confident investors.

By submitting your email address you will receive a free subscription to Money Morning and receive Money Morning Profit Alerts. You will also receive occasional special offers from Money Map Press and our affiliates. You can unsubscribe at anytime and we encourage you to read more about our privacy policy.